Chairman Pickett convened the meeting at 8:41 a.m. and welcomed everyone to the meeting.

1. Approve Minutes of the October 19-20, 2008 Audit Committee and Commission Meetings.

Commissioner Carr moved to approve minutes from the October 19 and 20th Audit Committee and Commission meetings. Commissioner Reynolds seconded. Motion passed.

2. Public Comment.

There was no public comment at this time.

3. General Announcements.

There were no announcements at this time.

4. Review of consent agenda: non-substantive corrections in other agenda items such as spelling, numbering, punctuation, grammar or other revisions.

Non-substantive corrections were noted.

5. Consideration of Commemorative Resolutions.

Chairman Pickett noted the commemorative resolution in honor of Robert Helfer, who retired in the fall of 2008. No motion required.

Introduction of recent Employees of the Quarter

Peggy Rudd introduced the agency's Employees of the Quarter, Jed Rogers, government information analyst, and Royce Wachsmann, delivery driver, both of the State and Local Records Management division, and Jennifer Ronsen, document assistant of the Talking Book Program. No action required.

7. Review and approve Audit Committee recommendations.

Commissioner Waters, audit committee vice chair, reported that the committee approved the Evaluation of Compliance with Information Technology Requirements (1 TAC 202) and moved approval of the audit. No second required. Motion passed.

8. Report of the Director and Librarian

Peggy Rudd provided a written report of agency activities since the last commission meeting and answered questions regarding the report. Director Rudd informed the commission of recent activities since the report was written, as follows:

Staff have now reoccupied the renovated Ground Floor of the Lorenzo de Zavala State Archives and Library Building.

Chairman Pickett and Director Rudd continue to visit with legislative staff about critical needs for the agency's shelving and furniture related to the building renovation and the expansion of archival storage space.

The agency has been directed to reduce agency General Revenue expenditures for FY2009 by 2.5 percent by the Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker of the House. This directive was just received so staff do not have figures to present to the commission on how this will be accomplished. Chairman Pickett and staff discussed the difficulty of accomplishing this at the mid-year point, particularly when the agency has contractual obligations to grantees or in other cases where the agency is already operating at a deficit. Hearing no objections from the commission, Chairman Pickett directed staff proceed with authority to make the reductions.

Commissioner Carr asked for historical background information on Interlibrary Loan and after discussion among staff and commissioners, Edward Seidenberg said he would include the topic as an agenda item at the March 31, 2009 commission meeting. He said staff would prepare a report on Interlibrary Loan prior to the meeting.

After further discussion of the Director's Report, Chairman Pickett recessed the meeting at 9:34 a.m. and called the meeting back to order at 9:47 a.m.

9. Update on the potential expansion of the Lorenzo de Zavala State Archives and Library Building.

Peggy Rudd presented the analysis of the Texas Facilities Commission (TFC) on expanding the Texas State Archives that has been out of storage space since 1992. TFC's staff analyzed increasing space at the Lorenzo de Zavala State Archives and Library Building, expanding the State Records Center or constructing a new building at the Records Center, 4400 Shoal Creek Boulevard, Austin, Texas. TFC was aided in their analysis by Dr. Greg Hunter, who prepared an assessment of the State Archives' archival storage needs. The report has been submitted to the Legislative Budget Board.

Chairman Pickett said the archives expansion is the agency's number one priority. No action was taken.

10. Review and approve contracts greater than $100,000.

There were no contracts to review at this time.

11. Review and approve acceptance of gifts greater than $500.

Edward Seidenberg presented the following gift items to the commission for approval:

The State and Local Records Management Division received a donation of $2,503.06 on December 29, 2008, from AT&T Wireless Services related to the cellular phone tower on agency property at 4400 Shoal Creek Boulevard in Austin, Texas. The donation is in conjunction with an easement and lease agreement made with the General Land Office.

The Talking Book Program received a gift of $500 on January 5, 2009, in memory of Mrs. Elizabeth C. McCain of Tyler, Texas, a patron of the program. As a schoolteacher for 28 years, Mrs. McCain taught reading and was herself an avid reader. She was 100 years of age when she passed away last fall. The program meant a great deal to her because of her love of reading.

The State Archives received a donation of Mirabeau B. Lamar's resignation as Secretary of War, dated May 26, 1836. When an appraiser was reviewing a collection of family papers for a Lamar descendant, he recognized the document as one of those appearing on the agency's list of documents missing from the State Archives. He encouraged the individual to return it to the commission and she immediately made arrangements to do so, anonymously.

Heritage Auction Galleries, of Dallas, donated two original proclamations signed by Republic President Anson Jones. One of the proclamations, dated June 25, 1844, grants Edward Kaufmann authority to serve as Consul of the Netherlands with headquarters at Galveston. The Netherlands was the second European nation to sign a commercial treaty with the Republic of Texas, following France and preceding Great Britain. The other proclamation, dated December 31, 1844, revokes the authority of Duff Green to serve as U. S. Consul to the Republic of Texas.

Deborah Littrell reported on the emergency grants awarded to libraries that sustained damage by Hurricane Ike as directed by Governor Rick Perry's Proclamation of October 8, 2008. Grants assisted libraries in restoring services and programs to their patrons.

The Commission received 12 applications for grants totaling in excess of $1 million. With a little more than $200,000 of remaining federal money to award, Ms. Littrell said the decision-making process was very difficult. Grants of $44,420 were awarded to Beaumont ISD, Bridge City ISD, Clear Creek ISD, La Marque ISD and Rosenberg Library-Galveston. Commissioner Freeman and Commissioner Carr made suggestions for the type of information to provide commissioners for future such grants. Chairman Pickett asked Ms. Littrell to provide additional information on these Texas Response Grants to the commissioners. Commissioner Carr moved to affirm the grant awards. Commissioner Freeman seconded. Motion passed.

13. Re-adoption of emergency rules 13 TAC 2.190-2.195 establishing a grant program to assist libraries damaged by Hurricane Ike and its aftermath.

Deborah Littrell requested re-adoption of emergency rules to assist libraries damaged by Hurricane Ike and its aftermath so that the emergency rules may be in effect for another 60 days after the March 31 termination of the grant program. Commissioner Reynolds moved to approve. Commissioner Carr seconded. Motion passed.

At this point in the meeting, Commissioner Waters requested to revisit the issue of archival expansion for the agency as discussed earlier in Item 9. After a discussion and recess at 11:14 a.m., Chairman Pickett reconvened the meeting at 11:32 a.m. Commissioner McAfee moved to support Option B of the Texas Facilities Commission's analysis to expand archival storage space by adding on to the State Records Center or build a freestanding building. Commissioner Carr seconded. Motion passed.

With no further business, Chairman Pickett adjourned the meeting at 11:48 a.m.